Family's new house gutted
A Shropshire family was left homeless today after a fire ripped through the first floor and roof of their new home. The blaze gutted parts of the house just off the A5 at Little Heath, Shotatton.
The blaze gutted parts of the house just off the A5 at Little Heath, Shotatton.
Fire crews saved the ground floor of the property, which was being renovated, but had to retreat from the building when a burning ceiling collapsed on them. Luckily no-one was hurt.
The fire at the house at Little Heath, on the Shotatton to Knockin road, was spotted at 7.30am, and firefighters from Baschurch, Oswestry and Shrewsbury were quickly on the scene.
Firefighter Peter Lewis, from Baschurch, said flames were coming through the roof and the stairs had already collapsed when they went in, and while fighting the blaze he was hit by plasterboard and other materials when a ceiling collapsed.
He said: "I was wearing protective clothing so I was unhurt but we had to get out of the building and continue fighting the fire from outside. It was a severe fire.
"It is such a shame, it is a lovely building with lots of timber in it. It looked as if a lot of work had been done on the house."
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
The first floor of the house and the roof were severely damaged in the blaze and, although the ground floor was saved, it suffered water damage from the firefighting operation.
Dennis and Sally Edwards today spoke of their devastation after the fire badly damaged their "dream home" that they hoping to move into in just two weeks. They have already sold their old home.
Mr Edwards said: "We can't believe this has happened. We have already sold our house in Babbins Wood and were moving into here in two weeks. We had planned to live in while we renovated the rest of the property. I don't know what we are going to do now - it doesn't bear thinking about.
Mr Edwards, along with his wife Sally and daughters Charlotte and Chloe, say it was a mystery how the fire started.
Mr Edwards added: "I got a call from a friend to say he could see smoke coming from the roof of the property so we headed down here straight away. We could not believe what we were seeing, our dream home was being destroyed and we have no clue how it started."
By Sue Austin and Antonia Merola
